How To Write The Acknowledgments: A Dissertation Writing Tutorial

After doing so much work researching and writing the dissertation, creating the acknowledgments seems like the last thing that students should worry about. Fortunately, many academic advisers can help with this step. If they are not available to help with writing the acknowledgments, students can use the following tip to wrap up this last portion of the writing process.

Who Should be Thanked?

Anyone who has ever seen the Oscars has the general idea of how acknowledgments work. First, the actor thanks their family, their manager and the people closest to them. Then, they move on to thank the rest of the team. This is the basic idea of how acknowledgments work. Generally, students should begin with thanking their academic adviser, professors who helped on the project and anyone else who supported them.

Think Outside of the Box

For many projects, there are more people who helped with the dissertation than just an academic adviser. Historians and people in the humanities often need to utilize research libraries or personal archives to carry out their research. If the student had to look at letters, images or data from a personal archive, they should thank the person who allowed them to access the information. Likewise, librarians and researchers who helped along the way should also be recognized in the acknowledgments. If the student could not carry out their dissertation without a specific individual's help, they should thank them. When in doubt, add the person into the acknowledgments.

Using Non-Humans in Acknowledgments

In some cases, it could be useful to thank a specific institution or organization. If the student utilized another university's library, an estate or a think tank for their work, they should add them into the acknowledgments. Although they are not an actual person, the institution was an integral part of completing the project.

Be Sincere

The acknowledgments will actually be the first part of the dissertation that anyone reads. Due to this, students should take some extra time to complete this part of their paper. They should make sure that they sound sincere and simply thank the people who helped them.

Although it seems like copying a dissertation is the easiest option, students should avoid doing this. Everyone who was involved in the searching and writing process should be thanked for their efforts. Professors and librarians did not have to spend time on a dissertation for a student: They chose to. They should be recognized for their efforts and for going beyond the required of them.